Team Massachusetts and the trophy that has been in their possession since 2004
(MGA photo)

Following Thursday’s foursome matches, the Bay State squad entered Friday’s round with a 14-point lead over Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Related: Seeking 14th Straight Win, Mass. leads Tri-State Matches

When the last singles match was decided, Team Massachusetts had secured a 29-point victory, which marked the 35th championship overall for the Bay State dating back to the tournament’s inaugural year in 1928.

“We could not be prouder of this group and their performance this week,” said Jesse Menachem, executive director of the Massachusetts Golf Association. “The distribution of scoring demonstrates how much depth of talent we have here in our state. It is not easy to defend a title, and they all did just that with incredible focus and grace.”

The post-match celebration was especially sweet as the team also toasted one member who was unable to join them this week. Matt Parziale, the 2017 Massachusetts Amateur Champion, was on the original team roster but had to withdraw on Wednesday after advancing deep into match play at the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.

While Team Massachusetts was putting the final touches on their win, Parziale was barreling through his final match and – at 1:45 p.m. – became the first male Bay State competitor to ever win the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. He defeated Josh Nichols by a score of 8 and 6 at Capital Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Everyone was thinking about Matt and how incredible his run has been this year and now at the U.S. Mid-Amateur,” said Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC), a senior amateur member of Team Massachusetts who was competing in his 23rd Tri-State Match. “Although we would have preferred to have been in Atlanta cheering for him, we wanted to do our part back home and win this title. It was a great day for Massachusetts golf.”

Competing in singles matches on Friday in Ridgefield, the team’s 16 members added 62 1/2 points to their day-one 60-point score to finish the two-day tournament with 122 1/2 points, ahead of Connecticut’s 93 1/2 points and Rhode Island’s 72 points.

Leading the charge for the Bay State during the singles matches were four golfers – Vana, Jack Kearney (Elmcrest CC), David Spitz (South Shore CC) and Jason Cook (Pine Oaks GC) – who all earned the maximum six points on Friday.

Ronald LaVerdiere (Crumpin-Fox Club) and John Hadges (Thorny Lea GC) collected 5 ½ points, while Zach Camarra (Worcester CC), Colin Brennan (Indian Ridge CC), Sean Fitzpatrick (George Wright GC), Jordan Burke (Needham GC) and Nick Maccario (Bradford CC) finished with the most points in their singles matches. In total, all competitors on the course on Friday contributed to the team’s victory.

Even with their success on Friday, the effort would not have been sufficient without the top performances from Thursday’s foursome matches. Maccario and Joe Walker (Dennis Pines GC) collected a maximum six points during Thursday’s morning rounds, while the teams of Burke and LaVerdiere (5 points), Mike Calef (Pine Oaks GC) and Cook and (4 ½ points), Herbie Aikens (Pinehills GC) and Kearney (4 ½ points) and Mike Souliotis (Haverhill CC) and Hadges (4 ½ points) all dominated their foursome matches on that day.

Their performance was crucial to the overall success of the team as the points accumulated over the two days were added to determine the event’s winner.

Friday’s final round of the Tri-State Matches represents one of the last competitive events of the season for each of the three state golf associations.

Next year’s event, for which Massachusetts will look for their 15th straight championship, will be hosted by Team Massachusetts at the Oyster Harbors Club on October 16-18, 2018.

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